Impact Team

The Impact Team works across different areas of partnership and interaction to maximise the impact of research from the Babraham Institute and ensure our discoveries have direct beneficial effects in our economy and society.

The Knowledge Exchange & Commercialisation Team

The Knowledge Exchange & Commercialisation Team facilitates Institute impacts through collaboration with other Institutes, networking bodies and commercial organisations. Their main audiences include industry and policymakers.

The Institute's KEC strategy is currently under review - if you would like to work with the Institute on KEC activities please contact kec@babraham.ac.uk and we will respond to you as soon as possible.

Dr Simon Cook

Simon has led a research team at the Institute since 1997, his interest is in cell signalling and he has produced close to 100 publications. He studied in London and Glasgow, gaining a PhD for studies in lipid signal transduction. Simon also has experience of working in industry having spent six years with ONYX Pharmaceuticals in California, where he developed an interest in protein kinase signalling.

His role at the Institute also means Simon is part of the Babraham Executive Committee and the Science Policy Committee. His lab has collaborations with AstraZeneca and campus company Phoremost.

Heather Bath

Heather is responsible for contractual matters for the Institute including negotiation of Confidential Disclosure Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements and collaboration agreements.

Prior to joining the Institute Heather worked at the Medical Research Council (MRC) and was heavily involved in the University Unit Transfers. She also managed the contracts for the MRC Uganda Unit and provided contract support to the MRC The Gambia Unit.

Dr Emily Boyce

Emily supports the Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation team, which seeks to maximise the economic and social impacts arising from the Institute’s publicly-funded research through partnerships and collaborations with local, national and international stakeholders in the commercial bioscience, clinical, charitable and policy sectors.

Prior to joining the Institute in January 2018 Emily worked at Health Enterprise East as an Innovation Manager, working to commercialising inventions originating from staff in the NHS. Emily has life sciences research background, with a PhD in plant genetics from the University of Cambridge and Rothamsted Research.

The Public Engagement Team

The Public Engagement Team facilitates Institute impacts by supporting open, honest engagement with members of the public.
Their main audiences include schools, families and community groups.

Dr Tacita Croucher

Tacita Croucher is the Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Manager, responsible for the development and delivery of the Institute’s Public Engagement (PE) and Knowledge Exchange (KE) strategies.

The PE strategy aims to embed engagement in research activities and support interactions between researchers and public groups. Working with a team of three engagement professionals, Tacita facilitates events and activities including science festival exhibits, schools engagement, community workshops and tours as well as bespoke projects to cater for adult, student, teacher and family audiences.

The KE strategy aims to build interactions between Institute researchers and the wider research community, including policy-makers/influencers, clinicians and charity bodies.Working with the Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation team, Tacita facilitates activities including scientific showcases, research and training workshops, symposia and conferences.

Tacita joined the Institute in 2013, she holds a PhD from the University of Sheffield, where she also led an award-winning branch of the British Science Association, Science Brainwaves. Tacita is also a member of the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition Committee, supporting arrangements for the most prestigious UK science exhibition.She is also an active member of the EU-LIFE Science Communication working group, with close working relationships across the 13 member Institutions. Additionally, Tacita chairs the Cambridge Public Engagement Biosciences Forum, a network of PE professional across the Cambridgeshire region.

Dr Emma Martinez-Sanchez

Emma is the Public Engagement Officer working on the EU H2020 funded ORION project which aims to embed Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation principles in research funding and performing organisations. Embedding these principles aims to make science more collaborative, transparent and accessible to all in order to align the whole research process with the values, needs and expectations of society. The ORION project is a collaborative project between two funders and four research institutes in four European countries. Find out how the Babraham Institute is contributing to ORION here.

Emma joined the Institute in August 2017. Previously Emma worked at the European Animal Research Association where she facilitated an informed dialogue regarding biomedical animal research in order to promote a sustainable research environment. Emma first came to Cambridge in 2013 to do her postdoctoral research at the WT-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute where she investigated protein transport during tumour development in stem cells.

The Science Communication Team

The Science Communication Team shares the latest news within and beyond the Institute, the goal is to raise the Institute's profile by engaging key figures and the media. Main audiences include press and the media.

Dr Louisa Wood

Louisa has over ten years' experience in communication and engagement and has worked at the Institute since 2014. Louisa is responsible for communicating research news, coordinating media engagement, responding to media enquiries and producing Institute publications. Louisa also manages the Institute’s internal communications and is a member of the Institute’s Equality4Success team.

The Babraham Institute is committed to the
Athena SWAN charter
to promote women's careers in science and advance equality and diversity. We are very pleased to have our work in this area acknowledged with a Silver award under the expanded charter.

Stonewall Diversity Champion

The Babraham Institute is proud to be a
Stonewall Diversity Champion. Stonewall helps us provide a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone.